LindaS

I have been in the 180s since May/June, but I am progressively getting lower. I am now staying close to 181. I upped my calories for a bit and now I'm taking in less calories again and am showing a weight loss again. I hope to get into the 170s soon.

Mine came back. I'm a year out. I did have thick hair to start, but it started thinning. It is getting thick again.

Favorite thing: I like how I fit into clothes, chairs, seatbelts, rides, everything. Least favorite: The bad breath I get from drinking Protein shakes.

I need more information. When was your surgery? What was your beginning weight? How much have you lost overall? What are you eating? What exercising are you doing? Are you getting in your protein and water?

I didn't realize this was an old post! I should pay more attention. LOL. The Protein first is what really helps me stay within my eating limits. And I was shocked at how much weight lifting can help tighten some loose skin areas (specifically my batwings). I found I had improvement within 3 weeks just lifting weights a few times a week.

I experienced, and I've read on here before as well, that I drop sizes quicker as I get smaller. I could wear a size 20 jeans even after a 40 pound loss. I can't do that with smaller sizes. I have heard there is only 10 pounds between sizes smaller than 10. I'm not there yet. I have been wearing size 12 since I was 190, but I couldn't wear all 12s and some were tight. Now my 12s are loose, and I can wear all 12s. I'm at 180.

Yes, I get more attention. I get comments and glances, and I ignore it. ShoeLover, I completely relate to your story! It had been a long time since a stranger had tried to coax a smile out of me, and it has been happening again. I had completely forgotten that random men will try to get me to smile.

You haven't stretched your stomach, but some of the swelling may have gone down to allow a bit more room. I remember feeling like that. It gets better.

I'm a year out, and I've lost 75 pounds. I had a long stall where my weight fluctuated but would not go below 183.6. It was miserable, and I tried a few tricks to get out of it without a heck of a lot of success. I just broke my stall and got to 180.2 within the last week. I've lost 5 pounds this week when I hadn't lost 5 pounds in 5 months. I don't think my sleeve is too big, but I do know that I need to stick to eating Protein first and getting all of my Water in. When I don't do that, things don't come off even if my calories are low and exercise is high. I also think that there is more than just 3500 calories equals a pound when it comes to weight loss. Our bodies need to adjust and figure out to let pounds go. We don't understand everything, but if you keep on track, the weight loss will happen eventually. I am not trying to win any races with my weight loss. I know that it gets harder the closer I get to goal. I'm 25 pounds from where I want to be, and I have to work to get there. To help me, I started blogging my weight every Friday. Unlike my ticker, I reported gains and losses. It has helped me stay accountable, and I am losing weight. It has also made me stay more aware of what my body is doing through this whole weight-loss process.

I am 5'7", weighed 255 and was 40 when I had my surgery. I don't have a problem with skin. My belly is loose but not hanging. I also gave birth to 4 kids, so my stomach was never going to be perfect. My arms were a little saggy, but weight lifting can make a difference fast. I've had people I do not really know ask my daughter whether I had loose skin. They were overweight, and I suspect wanted to use it as a reason not to get the surgery. Don't let this stop you. Linda

I was sleeved over a year ago. I lost 73 pounds and then hit a stall that lasted several months. I exercise and eat right, but I could do better getting my Water in. When I was on vacation in August, I was very active and ate right. I ended up gaining 6 pounds (water weight). My ankle was swelling, and I was bloated. Two weeks later, I've lost the 6 pounds and am finally down even more (another 2.6 pounds). The bloating incident got me back on the path to drinking my water like I am supposed to be drinking it. I can't eat like I did before, so I don't see how I can get back to my starting weight. It would be hard to do and painful. As long as I eat my Protein first, I have trouble eating anything else.

I came back from vacation today, and my scale is saying I gained 6 pounds. I cannot believe that is true. This vacation was one of the most physical vacations I've done. There was a lot of hiking and exercise. I ate normally (about 800 to 1000 calories a day). I did NOT eat my calories, and I didn't eat sweets and high-calorie things. Most days I ate Breakfast (two eggs), lunch (a couple of pieces of lunch meat rolled up without any spread or bread), and dinner (one night it was chili). The activity level was high. We were walking several miles a day; one day it involved a very hilly three-hour hike. After the hike, I felt like I could walk back the way we came, but my kids and husband wanted to use the shuttle (none of them are overweight). It was a good active vacation with smart food choices. Yesterday, my ankle was swollen quite a bit (I have arthritis). Because of the swelling, I suspect a big portion of this weight gain is Water weight. I am going to up my liquid intake today and hope that things flush out. I'm also going to change the batteries in my scale. I am not trying to be delusional. I had actually expected a loss when I stepped on the scale. I did not do anything that would account for a six-pound increase.

I am happy to report all 6 pounds are gone, and I have even lost another 2.6 pounds. Whew.

I was told to wait a year for corn, and I did. I still am very careful when eating it.

I will not miss the Wii Fit board telling me "that's obese" after I weigh in. Such a perky voice too.... I will not miss the boils I would get on my legs I will not miss wearing my pants on the inside of my thighs and having to get new ones because of those thigh holes even though the rest of the pants look brand new I will not miss not fitting on roller coasters even though this means I will have to ride the Dragster I will not miss the voice in my head reminding me of all the things I am too fat to do

Before you drink alcohol, look up the calories. You will be surprised. I've found that knowing the calorie count makes me less likely to indulge in alcoholic drinks. Before I knew the calorie count, I was more likely to have "just one" and depending on what kind that one drink was, I could be drinking up to half my entire calorie count for the day. I have had beer, wine and mixed drinks since being sleeved. I don't drink as fast or as much as I used to do. In social situations, I've found that I need to specifically tell the bartender or waiter to NOT bring me a drink if someone buys a round for the table. My drinks tend to get warm before I am able to finish them if I finish them. When I am out socially, I have a few stand bys: For beer, I usually get a Budweiser 55 because it is low in calories. It tastes OK. Water with a shot of cranberry juice (no alcohol), but it looks like a mixed drink Tomato juice (no alcohol) Arnold palmers (tea and lemonade mixed, no alcohol) Rum and coke (I've found that I tend to drink these slower than most drinks, especially if they are fixed strong.) Things I've learned to avoid: margaritas (too many calories) Girly beers like Mike's Hard Lemonade, Mojitos, blueberry/lemonade drinks, etc. These start at about 220 calories and go up from there. I can drink them too fast, and about 3 of them over several hours will make me drunk enough that I want to go to bed. The Mike's berry flavored ones also give me a headache the next day even if I only had one, and I don't usually have headaches. Fancy Shots (too many ingredients that are usually high in calorie) I tend to mix my drinks up. I might start with a Budweiser 55, but for my second round, I will get water with cranberry juice. It will be a couple of rounds before (if) I get another beer. I don't drink wine when I'm out socially. I do have it at home in the evening sometimes. I've started pouring myself half a glass instead of a full glass.

I'm a teacher too, and I went back to work after two weeks. I teach at a university, so it involves a lot of walking too. I was tired the third week -- falling asleep while watching the news, but it did get better. I didn't take any pain meds after my hospital stay. I haven't had any issues, and I haven't thrown up anything not even while still in the hospital.

You might want to have your urine checked too in order to find out if you are in ketosis or not. Without getting your urine checked, you can usually figured out you are in ketosis if your mouth is really dry, and you have bad breath and a horrible taste in your mouth that even mints and brushing your teeth won't get rid of.

I'm not sure what it is called, but it is a line defining the muscle in your arms, thighs and calves. I had forgotten that was possible!

I am a year out, and I would say I get a normal full feeling. Still, I find that I need to give myself a bit of time to recognize that full feeling. When eating, I tend to stop for a bit and let my stomach process what is in there. This helps keep me from eating too much. I don't stop for a long time, but I will put my fork down and talk a bit more and let my stomach adjust for a minute or two. It helps me figure out if I should take another bite or not.

How awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!

It is amazing how quickly our wardrobe has to change and how many times it has to change!

I like the Bariwise fruit drinks. They have 15 grams of protein too. I really like the Peach Mango flavor. For winter, I like the hot chocolate mixes although I add half of a "diet" carnation packet to the protein-enriched hot chocolate packet. it enhances the flavor, and I still get the protein.

Great job!

My surgery date was exactly one year before you! I didn't start any exercise (other than walking) until I was 6 weeks out because my doctor wanted me to heal. At that point, I started lifting some arm weights and doing some video game exercises like the dance games and the exercise games. They got me moving. I then met with a trainer who helped me figure out what I needed to do and what I could do at home. I got a lot of advice and exercise tips, etc. It really helped me get a program that I could do at home.